Chapter 23. The Moon is Beautiful, and the Impending Death
[[ "Um... Subaru. About what happened at noon..."
"Huh, noon? What... what happened at noon?"
"Ah... never mind, it's okay if you don't remember." ]]
...
~Inside, the Theater~
Eh? Did Subaru-kun forget?
Rem, watching from outside the screen, knows that she's referring to the haircut.
"Master Subaru does keep his promises, doesn't he?"
"Indeed. It seems Subaru took the haircut promise at noon as a joke."
Puck said, sitting on Emilia's right shoulder.
[[ "Are you talking about the hair thing? I thought that was just an impromptu joke. You want to cut it for me?"
Looks like Puck was right.
"No, Rem just thought it would be meddling if I brought it up myself. Even though we're colleagues, Subaru is Emilia-sama's benefactor, and his status is different."
"You're being so humble, I don't even know how to respond. Is that really what you think?" ]]
...
~Inside, the Theater~
"What Natsuki-san said, 'Is that really what you think?' is probably about Rem-san's phrase 'status is different.' Natsuki-san probably wants to be treated as a colleague more. But it's understandable, Natsuki-san himself is suspicious, and he's also the great benefactor who saved Emilia-sama; these reasons make it hard for Rem-san to truly treat Natsuki-san as a colleague."
Otto analyzes.
[[ "It seems my position is indeed awkward, I'm not self-aware enough. Sorry, I've troubled you."
Subaru, on the screen, realizes his special status and apologizes.
"No, it's Rem who said too much. Please forget it."
"Not giving up easily is what makes humans difficult to deal with. So, I'll make a deal. If you agree, I'll forget what just happened." ]]
...
~Inside, the Theater~
"Faced with what Rem-san considers a slip of the tongue, Natsuki is going to make a deal. But based on Natsuki's personality—"
[[ "If you can help me trim my hair neatly and comb it, I'll forget what just happened."
"..."
"It's kind of awkward when you choose to be silent." ]]
...
~Inside, the Theater~
"As expected, I'm not surprised at all."
Al muttered.
And the others were slightly surprised, then thought it was reasonable if it was Subaru, so they didn't say anything.
"But... Subaru-kun can ask Rem for more things."
Rem said.
And Natsuki Rem nodded in agreement upon hearing this.
[[ In the screen, facing Subaru's small condition, Rem breathed a sigh of relief:
"Emilia-sama also said that Subaru is a person without desires."
"That's strange. Shouldn't someone like me, who's putting on a show, leave people dumbfounded, or even make them fall for me..."
"Sister said that Subaru's eyes are very lewd when they're alone, so Rem was actually prepared for that kind of proposal."
"That's such excessive slander!"
Rem bowed:
"The condition has been noted—Rem agrees to Subaru's request." ]]
...
~Inside, the Theater~
"Ah, it seems the two are getting closer?"
"It seems so, Rem-san is even making sarcastic jokes. The atmosphere between them isn't as awkward anymore."
Otto responded to Felt.
"Increasing affection."
Al watched like he was watching a story, then made an "〇" with his hand.
[[ Afterwards, on the screen, since it was late, Rem was about to leave and asked Subaru if he could wake up on time.
"To be honest, I'm not confident. I can wake up with an alarm clock, but I guess there aren't such convenient tools here. Do you have animals like chickens that crow in the morning here?"
"...That seems difficult. Then let Rem or Sister wake you up tomorrow morning."
"Really? But, I feel bad about using my seniors as alarm clocks..."
"Rem will also have a headache if you sleep until evening."
"How much do you think I like to sleep?!"
"At least a whole day, probably."
Rem left the room. ]]
...
~Inside, the Theater~
"They're getting closer."
Rem felt a little relieved, they were teasing each other like friends.
"And Ram just substituted herself in, even though Barusu is suspicious, she can probably eliminate the suspicion."
Subaru gained trust and got closer.
Even though this means Rem probably didn't kill Subaru-kun, but...
"That magical beast..."
Rem raised her heart again.
[[ "Not bad, not bad. No problem, I can do it. It's said that your handsomeness increases by fifty percent when you look in the mirror right after a shower. I feel like that's really happening now." ]]
...
~Inside, the Theater~
"Huh? Why did it skip again?"
Next should be Subaru sleeping and then welcoming the next day's work, but the screen suddenly jumped again, not knowing where it jumped to.
"It looks like the garden at night."
Frederica said.
"Ah, it's me."
Emilia said.
[[ In the screen, the moon was high, and Subaru walked to Emilia's side:
"Oh my, what a coincidence to meet you in a place like this."
"You interrupt my routine every day, and you still say it's a coincidence... We live under the same roof."
Subaru began to look flustered. ]]
...
~Inside, the Theater~
"Subaru-dono."
Wilhelm immediately realized what Subaru was going to do, but seeing his clumsy appearance, he remembered himself when he was young.
"My, my~ Emilia-sama is quite the oblivious one, isn't she?"
Anastasia's fox-like smile widened, her fingers tapping playfully against her chin. The merchant princess found the whole situation endlessly amusing—watching the half-elf completely miss Subaru's painfully obvious efforts was comedy gold.
Ram clicked her tongue.
"How typical of Barusu to be this transparent."
"Sister!"
Rem protested, though her cheeks were slightly pink—she couldn't help but find Subaru's awkwardness endearing.
[[ The two chatted like this, one word from you, one word from me, and they talked about work.
"I only got an 'S' rating when I shortened my pants and sewed the apron button, the others were all 'C'."
Subaru said.
"You really only do some things well."
"Because I've been taught this way since I was a child, rather than being a useless person who's good at nothing, it's better to be someone who's good at some things."
"I see, that's great. Subaru also has advantages that it can be confident in. And you're not afraid of difficulties when you do other work, and you continue to work hard, isn't that amazing? Ram and Rem have also secretly praised you."
"Really? My seniors actually praised me in front of you in secret; that's admirable. Even if I cut my hand with a knife, knock over the bucket, and mess up the laundry, these things will accumulate goodwill!" ]]
...
~Inside, the Theater~
"It seems this is at least one day later. But... so many messed up things, really a useless Barusu. But, it seems the relationship has really gotten a lot closer."
Ram looked at the screen, then looked at the relieved Rem, and finally looked at the screen again—
[[ "You better reflect on these things. But you must be very tired every day, right?"
Emilia, on the screen, said that she should reflect on these mistakes.
"Super, extremely, really tired. I really want to borrow Emilia-tan's lap to heal myself."
"Okay, okay. You're still in the mood to joke, it seems I don't need to worry."
Emilia gently poked Subaru's forehead with her finger. Subaru fell down and looked at the moon—
"The moon is beautiful."
"Because it's out of reach."
"Although I didn't mean to say that, your answer hurts my heart!" ]]
...
~Inside, the Theater~
"M-Moon... moon... moon...?"
Rem repeated the word softly, her fingers pressed to her lips as if trying to decipher some hidden meaning.
"Moon (tsuki)... as in 'like' (suki), perhaps?"
Anastasia's sharp merchant instincts immediately picked up on the wordplay, her lips curling into a knowing smirk.
"Ah—moon... like...!"
Rem's eyes widened in realization, her cheeks instantly blooming pink.
"Tch. Where did Barusu learn such cheap tricks? What a playboy."
Ram crossed her arms, though even she looked mildly impressed by the cleverness of it.
"Whoa! I knew Master had game! It's not that he can't flirt—it's just that Emilia-sama's denser than a brick!"
"I-Is... is that really what it means...?"
Natsuki Rem's fingers fidgeted slightly, her expression caught between flustered and conflicted. Even knowing this wasn't her Subaru, the implication made her chest tighten.
"This..."
Wilhelm was also quite surprised.
"Why didn't I think of something like that back then? If I'd said that to Theresia..."
But even if he had, he likely wouldn't have had the courage to voice it. The thought made him chuckle ruefully.
Wilhelm smiled bitterly.
"So this is how Little Bro charmed ya, huh?"
Al elbowed the air playfully.
"No! In fact! Subaru only acts this way toward Emilia!"
Beatrice hurriedly clarified.
"Subaru... told me his feelings that early?"
Emilia's breath caught. She remembered his confession in the Sanctuary—but she hadn't realized he'd hinted at it this soon, even if indirectly.
The only one who didn't seem particularly shocked was Al, who just leaned back with an amused snort.
"Classic Little Bro."
[[ And the screen continued. Subaru accidentally showed the wound on his hand with a band-aid on it. ]]
...
~Inside, the Theater~
"A wound?!"
Rem had an ominous premonition.
[[ "Speaking of which... I know you're working hard, but how do you get so many scars on your hands?"
Emilia asked Subaru worriedly.
"Oh, oh, it's simple. Just tonight, when I went with Rem to the village near the mansion to buy things, there was a small animal like a dog playing with the animals, and it bit me hard." ]]
...
~Inside, the Theater~
"That magical beast!"
The two Rems shouted at the same time.
That is to say... Subaru-kun/Darling will die because of this.
"Ah... um."
Emilia, Ram, and the others also suddenly realized.